]]>It’s been two decades since Masahiro Sakurai and Nintendo blessed us with Super Smash Bros., one of the craziest crossover fighters around, and one month into Ultimate, we thought we’d take a look back at all five games, and remember the good, the great, the bad, and the trip mechanic from Brawl. Who thought that was a good idea?

Super Smash Bros. (1999)

Franchises peaking in the first instalment may be true of many films, but of video games… Well, they must’ve never played Smash on Nintendo 64. It’s not bad per se, but as your professor might say on parent-teacher interview night, “it has potential.” ‘Potential’ is really the headliner for Smash.You’ve gotta give it props for the novel idea, bringing 12 “iconic” Nintendo characters together to Brawl it out in the Ultimate multiplayer melee.

Still, the OG Smash has a lot going for it; the way it gives each fighter movesets featuring faithful callbacks to their own games, a cool soundtrack with famous music from all the fighters’ series, and introduced the idea of the fighters as toys in a young child’s room, giving birth to a unique Smash Bros. lore that fans are still speculating at.

The biggest handicap that holds this game back though, is the hardware it’s saddled with, and we aren’t talking about the Nintendo 64. The cumbersome N64 controller is still baffling to this day. It is seemingly designed for aliens, because no human hands can wield it comfortably.

Super Smash Bros. Melee (2001)

Ahhhh Melee, a game that, depending on who you ask, has either aged like wine, or cheese. Whether you love it or hate it, its popularity is undeniable. It is still the most popular Smash to date. Ultimate has sold faster, but as of now, Melee has it beat in sheer numbers. It’s still played professionally at most big tournaments, such as EVO, and it has an enduring fanbase. Melee is the bar by which every subsequent Smash has been judged, and the one Ultimate had to beat.

In terms of gameplay, Melee is far faster than 64, and comes with even more classic additions to the roster, but don’t get too attached to them, because if you want to play for real, you have two viable choices: Fox, or Marth. Being a fighting game on the GameCube meant no patches, so if the game shipped unbalanced, it stayed that way, and boy-howdy is it unbalanced.

Melee did introduce a lot of new gameplay additions to Smash that are now staples of the series, mostly by accident. A lot of the tech, such as wavedashing, L-cancelling, etc. is accidental, but Smash players figured them out anyway and have been using them ever since, and now look, Nintendo have officially embraced them, and are even touting them as features of Ultimate.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

Brawl is like awkward middle-child syndrome in game form. There’s so much going for it, but some clunky design choices ensure that is seldom one that Smash players will be going back to. On the positive end, Brawl has possibly the most meaningful content out of any Smash game, in the form of its story mode, Subspace Emissary, and this isn’t just like Classic or Adventure mode in previous games, this is a fully-fledged story, nay, a narrative.

Sakurai and the team managed to tell a sprawling, epic, and at times very dark and serious story, with no dialogue, and with only wacky Nintendo characters. By all rights, it shouldn’t work, but the story is amazing, especially that final boss fight (Taboo for Ultimate DLC, please!). There are legitimate tear-jerker moments. And did we mention, Brawl is the first time guest characters were introduced in Smash!

So, for such a momentous occasion, who did Nintendo manage to wrangle up? First, Sonic the Hedgehog! Finally, we could play out the dream Mario VS. Sonic matchup on our TVs at home, and second, none other than everyone’s favourite family-friendly secret agent; Solid Snake! For the first time, players could drop high-powered explosives onto the likes of Kirby and Yoshi. Wild.

Also, it has a neat aesthetic where all the characters have been rendered kinda realistically, so you can see all the glorious denim on Mario’s overalls. It’s very weird for a Nintendo game to look so dark and gritty, but it looks very cool. So Brawl’s story and roster are great, but what about the gameplay? Well, it’s the slowest game in the series, which doesn’t do it any favours, and the team intentionally cut a lot of the competitive technical features to make it more casual-friendly, upsetting a lot of the hardcore players. Still, it has a very small but loyal player base at tournaments.

The one unforgivable mechanic is the tripping. When you dash, there is a one percent chance that you will trip over, for no reason. One percent doesn’t sound like a lot in theory. In actual gameplay, it seems like it happens every five seconds. And when you turn around during a dash, it becomes a 1.25% chance. Why? Brawl did introduce Final Smashes too, which are awesome, if you leave items on (which you should).

Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U and 3DS (2014)

Known colloquially by its far less silly nickname, Sm4sh, this instalment still suffers from a lot of what made Brawl so unpopular with fans, but does fix some issues. It is faster, the tripping is mercifully gone, and Meta-Knight got nerfed so hard he’s still fishing foam darts out of his armour, which is always nice. Unfortunately, when the King dies, a new ruler will rise up to take their place, and now we have a good few months’ worth of top-tier Bayonetta cheese memes. Well, see me in Ultimate now, Bayo mains.

The gameplay of Sm4sh allowed for a lot more technical and long-lasting competitive play than Brawl, but in terms of game content, it is the weakest in the series. There is very little substantial single-player content. If you don’t have friends around, there is almost nothing to do, unless you’re a stickler for collectibles. The music and presentation is top notch though, and as the first Smash in HD, it looks amazing.

The 3DS version is also pretty neat. The small screen isn’t always conducive to fun gameplay, but it works. The 3DS actually features significantly better single-player content than its console counterpart, and some different stages, some of which are way better than the Wii U ones. Pac-Maze, anyone? You can also use the 3DS as a controller for the Wii U version, which is super cool.

This instalment also features true online play for the first time. Yes Brawl had online but… Not really. For Glory is the first time it actually worked, and led to years of great YouTube videos of dunking on scrubs. And finally, the biggest point in favour of Sm4sh, 8-player Smash. This mode is absolutely bonkers, it’s utter chaos, and it can get very hard to see what is going on, but it’s super fun. For all the Wii U’s faults, the implementation of so many different controller options and players was not one of them.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)

The new kid on the block. SmUsh. Sma5h. The nickname’s still being workshopped. It’s only been out for just over a month, but we think it’s fair to say that Sakurai and the gang did it; this game is excellent, and is a worthy successor to the Smash lineage, surpassing even Melee.

From that very first Nintendo Direct that blew everyone’s minds and built unfathomable levels of excitement, the feature being sung from the hilltops is that, finally, five games in, Everyone Is Here. Seventy six playable characters, with six more on the way as DLC. Sure, maybe it’s a bit of a cop-out to just put in all the old characters and say, “Look, the game is bigger now,” but it is really awesome to finally play as all the old favourites again, going up against the newcomers and modern classics.

Characters that have never met in the previous games finally have the chance to duke it out. Pichu vs. Snake, Cloud vs. Ice Climbers, Incineroar vs. his own Up-B, The Belmonts vs. being offstage, K. Rool vs. actually playing the game; it’s amazing. There’s actually real single-player content, too! World of Light is no Subspace Emissary, but it’s something. The Spirit battles are fun, sometimes frustrating, ways of seeing characters that didn’t quite make it being represented in Smash, and the novelty stays fresh for a good amount of time. Collecting Spirits becomes strangely addictive very quickly.

Starting the game with only the original eight fighters from the Smash 64 roster is also a great way to incentivise players to experiment with new characters as they unlock the full roster, and leads to a good sense of pride and accomplishment when everyone is finally there on the Character Select screen. It’s nice to actually have to play the game to unlock the content, rather than having it all handed to you at the start, something that Nintendo thankfully haven’t forgotten about. The roster is more balanced than ever, mostly, and the team is really committed to making this competitively viable, with loads of new tech added, intentionally, that spices up matches. Parrying with a perfect shield, directional air-dodging, and more customisation than you can shake a Smash Ball at, all adds up to one definitive Smash Bros. experience.

If this is the final Smash game (see what we did there?), then Nintendo will have ended on a truly high note.

]]>From film to TV, anime to comics and everything in between, here’s what you might have missed in pop culture news this week.

TV

The latest Game of Thrones teaser has, as expected, sent the internet into meltdown. The new teaser brings together Jon Snow, Sansa, and Arya, confronted with a cold and deadly presence. Season eight will begin on April 14.

More good news for Star Trek fans this week as CBS gives the green light for a spin-off around Michelle Yeoh’s Philippa Georgiou. The production is currently in early development.

Frank Castle returns to Netflix today! Get excited for The Punisher season two with the latest trailer.

Calling all fans of The Office! Steve Carell and Greg Daniels are teaming up for new Netflix workplace comedy Space Force. The series, set to star Carell, will follow the people who are hired to bring President Trump’s “Space Force” to life.

FILM

The first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home swung its way onto the web this week. The trailer features Peter Parker headed for a European school trip, where he bumps into Nick Fury, Mysterio and more.

It has been revealed that Disney is developing a live-action musical adaptation of the animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang attached. Its current title is Hunchback.

A new Ghostbusters film set in the original universe has been officially announced by Sony Pictures, revealed in an Entertainment Weekly exclusive with Jason Reitman (Juno), the sequel’s co-writer and director. Jason Reitman is the son of the original film’s director, Ivan Reitman. The film is slated for a 2020 release date and set ton begin filming in the next few months. It is yet to be confirmed if original Ghostbusters Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray or Ernie Hudson will appear in the sequel.

Aquaman has officially grossed $1 billion at the global box office and has become the most successful DCEU film yet.

In other DC news, reports have surfaced that the red spandex outfit worm by the titular hero of David F. Sandberg’s upcoming film Shazam! costs $1 million. And they made 10 of them.

Speaking to UK newspaper The Sun, director Rob Marshall has confirmed talks of a sequel to Mary Poppins Returns. Whilst the idea is in early stages, there were, as he says, “eight books, so there’s still lots of great material to mine.”

A cryptic image from the set of Star Wars: Episode IX has emerged via John Boyega’s (Finn) Instagram.

A post shared by John Boyega (@johnboyega) on Jan 15, 2019 at 1:46pm PST

The next Jumanji sequel has added a new member to its cast in the form of Danny Glover. Other new cast announcements include Danny DeVito and Awkwafina.

Warner Bros. Minecraft movie will move ahead with a new director. Peter Sollett of Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist will helm the production based on the video game, taking over from Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia).

ANIME

Comedy anime Kaguya-Sama: Love is War has begun streaming on Animelab’s simulcast this week. The show is a wonderful blend of Kakegurui and Ouran High School Host Club so it is highly recommended for fans to check this out.

Popular swimming anime Free! will be diving into cinemas with a new movie set to be released in 2020. A compilation movie for the show’s third season is also set to splash into Japanese cinemas this July and apparently will feature a new episode.

COMICS

Diamond Comic Distributors’ year-end report packed some revelations, listing Marvel’s 1992 release The Infinity Gauntlet as the highest selling graphic novel of 2018. Jim Starlin and George Perez’s seminal tale of Thanos the Mad Titan served as one of the chief inspirations for the MCU box office goliath Avengers: Infinity War and the movie’s impact spread to book stores and comic stands worldwide. However, it was the only Marvel book in the top 10 best sellers of last year, the rest being (in descending order): Saga Vol. 9, Saga Vol. 1, Saga Vol. 8, Action Comics: 80 Years of Superman, The Walking Dead Vol. 29: Lines We Cross, Paper Girls Vol. 1, Batman: White Knight, Dark Nights: Metal and Monstress Vol. 1. Fairing a little stronger than Marvel, DC placed three times, whereas independent powerhouse Image beat out “The Big Two” by placing a whopping six titles.

As far as single issues are concerned, Marvel dominated as the top publisher with a 40.4% controlled share of the market and seven of the top 10 single issues of the year coming from the industry magnate. DC, however, had the top selling single issue of the year in Action Comics #1000 which was joined by Batman #50 and Batman Who Laughs #1 in the top 10 single issues of the year. Courtesy of the award-winning space opera Saga from Brian K Vaughn and Fiona Staples, Image Comics was the third highest selling publishing house after DC.

Batton Lash, the award-winning writer and artist behind popular strip Supernatural Law, passed away at the age of 65. Lash ran Exhibit A press, one of the longest running small comic book companies, with his editor and wife Jackie Estrada. Lash would also go on to write an award-winning arc for Bongo’s Radioactive Man and the Archie Meets the Punisher crossover.

Ron Smith, a stalwart of the comic book industry since the 1940s, passed away this week at the age of 94. Smith got started at D.C Thomson & Co in 1951 and drew a range of books until 1971 before becoming a freelancer in 1972. Well known for his tenure on Judge Dredd, Smith started drawing the character in 1979 and continued to do so until 1994 before retiring from comics in the late ’90s.

THIS WEEK’S PICKS

Invaders #1 (Marvel) – To celebrate Marvel’s 80th anniversary, their first superhero team is back! Join Captain America, The Human Torch, The Winter Soldier and Namor – the team who fought together in WWII, except this time Marvel’s King of the Ocean is a threat to the entire world and his former comrades reunite to take him down!

Avatar: Tsu’tey’s Path #1 (Dark Horse) – Fans of James Cameron’s Avatar will remember Tsu-tey, the Omatikayan warrior betrothed to Neytiri whose life is turned upside down when Jake Sully drops out the sky. This sidequel from novelist Sherri L Smith sheds light on an unseen story from 2009’s blockbuster smash.

Batman Who Laughs #2 (DC Comics) – If you’re not already on board with another twisted and ingenious tale of the Caped Crusader from Scott Snyder and Jock, it’s not too late to jump on with the second issue of the Batman Who Laughs. This issue sees more of fan-favourite and new iteration of Batman: The Grim Knight.

Black Widow #1 (Marvel) – Black Widow is back from the dead and on a rampage in this brand new blood splattered series from horror writers Jen and Sylvia Soska and artist Flaviano.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder in Hell #1 (IDW Publishing) – A brand new mini-series in the Turtleverse from Mateus Santolouco sees Shredder return… and sent straight to hell!

]]>Why Tyler Hoechlin’s Superman Deserves His Own Showhttps://www.supanova.com.au/tyler-hoechlins-superman-deserves-show/
Wed, 16 Jan 2019 21:24:57 +0000https://www.supanova.com.au/?p=36202"There’s no one more deserving of a spin-off."

The CW’s fifth annual DC superhero crossover event, Elseworlds graced our screens only a month ago, and after Supa-Star Tyler Hoechlin’s fantastic performance as the man of steel, we believe there’s no one more deserving of a spin-off. Here are just a couple of reasons why.

Possible Storylines

There are no doubt hundreds of storylines that have been written about Superman, arguably the most renowned superhero. And now, in the golden age of comic book television series and movies, there is no better time to be exploring these. Sure we’ve had a few movies as of late, but a spin-off television show could open up countless more story avenues than a series of movies due to its speedier release format. If anything, Elseworlds has just left us wanting to see more of Superman in a black suit, after reading all the other possible storylines that the suit has taken Clark in the comics.

Independence

At the conclusion of Elseworlds, [SPOILER ALERT] Clark and Lois returned to Argo City after telling Kara that they were expecting a child, leaving her to protect National City on her own. This already provides the perfect backdoor opportunity for not only the creation of a world completely separate from Supergirl’s, but also a world that has, for the most part, taken a back seat in all screen adaptations of both Superman and Supergirl, giving this series the potential to have a unique and interesting take on a new storyline for Kal-El.

Timing

With rumours, reports and more in recent months around Henry Cavill potentially departing from the role of Superman in the DCEU, this is a perfect window of opportunity for a television series to be launched (Warner Bros. has had a famed reluctance to include characters already in the DCEU in the Arrowverse, Superman being one of the very few exceptions). Hoechlin’s cheerful interpretation of Superman, which has fit perfectly into the bright tone of Supergirl, is a far cry from the much darker DCEU and the huge contrast has been praised by fans and critics for being a refreshing take on the superhero.

A Strong Lead

Tyler Hoechlin has already won fans over with his portrayal of Superman in just a few episodes. His time on Teen Wolf (and 7th Heaven) has taught us that he’s capable of being a charismatic main series lead, and he’s proven his acting chops since he was young, when he appeared alongside none other than Tom Hanks in Road to Perdition, winning a Saturn Award for his performance and being nominated for countless others.

With a strong series lead like Hoechlin, alongside a great script, a Superman spin-off sure has a lot of things going for it. Whilst spin-off rumours were recently debunked by Film Reporter and Founder & Editor in Chief of Heroic Hollywood, Umberto Gonzalez, who knows; maybe if we are vocal enough about our love for Hoechlin’s refreshing, cheery portrayal of Superman, the gears might really start turning for a show that we think the caped crusader deserves.

It feels like everyone is talking about Mars nowadays. NASA wants to send humans to the red planet by 2030, and Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are locked in a tight race to get people to Mars, with SpaceX expecting to send its first crew by 2024 and to establish a base and a self-sustaining civilisation soon after.

Mars, and the question of how we’ll survive and thrive on the red planet has also dominated Hollywood with films and shows like The Martian, Life, The Expanse and Netflix’sThe Mars Generation. But, our collective obsession with this alien planet has been deeply rooted in all aspects of pop culture for decades, from cult classics like Mars Attacks and Total Recall to Bowie’s Life on Mars and Elton’s Rocket Man.

The main difference between Mars then and Mars now (aside from the emergence of space barons like Musk, Bezos and Branson) is that we finally have the technology not only to get us there but to make life on Mars possible.

So, once we get there, how will we survive, live long and prosper? Here are the top five things we’ll need to thrive in the New World.

Genetic engineering

Synthetic biology is the most important recent scientific development that will make our survival on Mars possible. Thanks to synthetic biology we can now edit the genes of any organism, making it possible for us to engineer our food, environment, and even ourselves to thrive on an alien planet.

No one wants to spend the entirety of their life on Mars eating potatoes, freeze dried food and ketchup like Matt Damon à la The Martian, and we can’t afford to ship enough food over from Earth to sustain a growing Martian population. But, with genetic modification techniques that already exist we can get anti-freeze genes from fish and genes for drought tolerant grains like rice and stitch them into plants, creating food that will grow in the harsh Martian climate.

Now unless we want to live underground, hiding behind walls of lead, or wearing spacesuits that feel like lead, we’re going to have to find smarter ways of protecting ourselves against radiation. Through genetic engineering we could adapt the ability to withstand the cold, dehydration and radiation from bacteria like the Deinococcus radiodurans (which loves extremes) to create a generation that can adapt to low gravity, higher radiation and low air pressure and doesn’t have to live in fear of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Total Recall bugged-out eyes and face explosion effect.

The Expanse is a perfect example of how through forced or natural evolution Martians will eventually differ from Earthers, as they adapt to their environment.

Martian suits

On Earth we have miles of atmosphere piled up on us, which keeps pressure on our bodies and stops us from, essentially, exploding. On Mars there’s barely any atmospheric pressure. So, scientists at MIT have created a lightweight and slick BioSuit that’ll mechanically pressurise our bodies and fit like a glove, meaning no more bulky gas-filled spacesuits. Reebok and Adidas are already muscling in on space-fashion. Rebook recently unveiled its futuristic Space Boot SB-01. Believe it or not, this is a fast-growing industry and pretty soon next-gen spacesuits will be the new active wear (look to the new Lost in Space for inspiration).

Water and oxygen

Inarguably two of the most vital elements for human survival, so it should come as no surprise that NASA is sending its Mars 2020 rover with a reverse fuel cell that converts Martian atmosphere into oxygen, to make sure it can produce enough oxygen to keep one person alive indefinitely. The tech is scalable so once it passes the NASA test there’ll be no chance of running out of air while you’re out exploring the red planet.

As for water, Mars has 100% humidity so a dehumidifier could extract the water we need from the atmosphere. Below all that red sand Mars is covered in ice sheets; a warmer incline in temperature would see these sheets melt, putting Mars would be under 30 feet of water, and that’s where terraforming comes in.

Terraforming

Now look, no one ever said terraforming a planet was easy and The Expanse (which is looking more like science than science-fiction) definitely doesn’t sugar-coat what will essentially take centuries to achieve, but once we start generating greenhouse gases by erecting large solar sails focused on the south pole of Mars temperatures will start rising, we’ll have running water, which will lead to vegetation, the atmosphere will thicken which will lead to more atmospheric pressure and less radiation so we can eventually do without those spacesuits.

Business

Earthers are already looking to Mars for business opportunities, with Brooklyn start-up Final Frontier Design already securing multiple contracts from NASA to develop future suits and components. Space-fashion will be a booming market as more people settle the New World.

Tourism and hospitality will be a major industry with the very rich (we’re looking at you Richard Branson) wanting the full Mars experience. Hotels and bars will open up to accommodate workers and tourists and space communication will definitely be a big industry with visitors and residents wanting to call home to Earth. Construction and infrastructure will be boom as the population. There will be plenty of opportunities for entrepreneurs on Mars.

April will be here before you know it, and so will our talent-packed Melbourne (6-7 April) and Gold Coast (13-14 April) line-ups, which have expanded in anticipation for premium tickets; VIP and Supa-Q Passes, going on sale this Thursday at 10am, respectively.

North’s long-running stints voicing Nathan Drake on Uncharted and Desmond Miles on Assassin’s Creed, among other roles, have made him a legend in the business; while prolific talent Baker has become one of the genre’s best through his roles as Joel in The Last of Us, Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite, and the Joker in Arkham Origins.

Schwab rose to pop culture fame via paranormal fantasy series Villains, the second novel of which, Vengeful, was released last year; while award winning Melbourne author Ward is known for Welcome to Orphancorp and Psynode; and New Zealand talent Craw has garnered a following via fantasy/sci-fi trilogy Spark.

With General Admission Tickets already on sale, our VIP and Supa-Q Passes will be available from Thursday, January 17, via Moshtix, giving Supa-Fans a stack of benefits above and beyond general admission, including priority queuing. More information about each ticket inclusion can be found detailed on the Melbourne and Gold Coast event pages.

]]>After premiering at Screamfest in L.A. last year, Australian horror short No Friend in the Forest, the haunting story of a man who stumbles across a hard bargain in a desolate and otherworldly outback, will screen in Brisbane next week.

To celebrate, writer and director Sam Dixon has given Supanova a behind the scenes look at its creation via on-set still by photographers David Chatfield and Megan Keene.

“The shooting was intense but glorious, as it often is making a film,” Dixon said of the Victorian Alpine region shoot.

“This is the first film I’ve actually shot on digital, every other film I’ve directed I’ve shot on super 16mm, so it was kind of a new experience for me. Both have their pros and cons.”

No Friend in the Forest will screen alongside Dixon’s 2016 short, Dancing Goat, at Lumen Room, Metro Arts on January 24, with tickets and more information available through Eventbrite.

]]>Newstime: The Stories You Might Have Missed This Weekhttps://www.supanova.com.au/newstime-stories-might-missed-week-27/
Thu, 10 Jan 2019 22:59:31 +0000https://www.supanova.com.au/?p=36129'Game of Thrones', 'Captain Marvel' and so much more!

]]>From film to TV, gaming to comics and everything in between, here’s what you might have missed in pop culture news this week.

TV

Footage of the upcoming Watchmen series has surfaced via a HBO 2019 teaser trailer. It might only be five seconds long, but features disturbing masked police officers, a cowboy hat and a mysterious Rorschach wannabe – enough to send the internet into overdrive with speculation. Expected to arrive around mid-2019, the series is supposedly a sequel to the graphic novel. Game of Thrones also features in HBO’s new trailer.

Another animated Star Trek series is reportedly in the works, expected to land on CBS All Access. According to Hollywood Reporter, Star Trek: Lower Decks will focus on the lower ranking members of Starfleet in a comedic fashion.

The Game of Thrones prequel series has finalised its main cast, inviting Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: Episode IX), Denise Gough (The Witcher 3), Jamie Campbell Bower (The Mortal Instruments), Sheila Atim (Harlots), Ivanno Jeremiah (Black Mirror), Georgie Henley (The Chronicles of Narnia), Alex Sharp (To The Bone) and Toby Regbo (Reign) to the cast. The series is expected to begin production soon.

FILM

Aquaman continues to ride a mammoth wave of earnings at the global box office, now being declared the highest earning DCEU film. The film has grossed over $950 million worldwide, according to Forbes, and speculation is high that it could break the billion dollar mark.

Star Wars: Episode IX may be under tight wraps, but in an interview on Good Morning Americalate last week, Todd Fisher (brother to the late Carrie Fisher) revealed there are “a lot of minutes” of General Leia footage and not “outtakes.” The family are also thrilled at the work that has been done in Episode IX.

David Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) has joined a very different galaxy. Bautista has been cast in the new Dune movie, alongside Stellan Skarsgård (Thor) who will play villain Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

The world’s favourite symbiote, Venom is making a return to the big screen. According to EW, Sony has greenlit the Venom sequel with writer and executive producer Kelly Marcel returning to pen the script.

Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One, Doctor Strange) is starring as an assassin in new Netflix film Polar. The film is based on a graphic novel and web comic series by Victor Santos and has unleashed a trailer this week.

Netflix has also released a trailer for upcoming sci-fi flick IO.

It’s official, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a hit! The release picked up Best Animated Film at the Golden Globes earlier this week, while Bohemian Rhapsody picked up Best Motion Picture – Drama. Check out the full list of winners here.

GAMING

Alien: Blackout has been revealed as a new mobile game, allowing players to guide Amanda Ripley’s crew through a crippled Weyland space station while a tireless Xenomorphic creature hunts you and everyone else on board. The Alien franchise celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

ANIME

Animelab has added Dragon Ball Super English dubs for episodes 53 through to 65 this week, as well as Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest, in lead up to the Australian release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly on January 24. As for Animelab’s on-demand service, The Prince of Smiles and The Promised Neverland have started simulcast this week.

COMICS

Hollywood will pay tribute to Stan Lee on Wednesday 30 January at TCL Chinese Theatre. The tribute, titled Exclesior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee, will be hosted by Kevin Smith and will feature Mark Hamill, Rob Liefeld, Michael Uslan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Tom DeSanto and RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan.

DC Comics has signed a deal with Amazon making its books available on Comixology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime Reading. Thousands of DC and Vertigo single issues as well as trade paperbacks and graphic novels will be available to subscribers to these services at no extra cost.

Brian Michael Bendis has teased a Legion of Super-Heroes release for DC imprint Wonder Comics, as well as announcing that he is working on a Young Justice series with a major female creator. DC is also reported to be working on a standalone Batman: The Long Halloween animated film.

Criminal #1 (Image) – One of the most beloved crime comics of the 21st century is back! Straight from finishing Kill or Be Killed, acclaimed creative duo Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips return to the hard-boiled tales of Criminal in a new ongoing monthly series.

Young Justice #1 (DC Comics) – Brian Michael Bendis with art by Patrick Gleason unite Superboy, Wonder Girl, Robin, Impulse and Amethyst for the return of the junior answer to the Justice League which sees the nightmare dimension Gemworld invading Metropolois.

Captain Marvel #1 (Marvel) – Ahead of the hotly anticipated Marvel Studios live-action film comes this new ongoing series from Kelly Thompson and Carmen Carnero!

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) – A new ongoing Spidey title takes a closer look at Peter Parker in his home turf of Queens and his day to day cohabiting with his neighbours! From Supa-Star writer Tom Taylor and artist Juann Cabal.

Turok #1 (Dynamite Entertainment) – Turok needs to rescue his brother from Old West cavalry who have taken Andar to the Badlands, and they’ll all wind up in a lost land inhabited by monstrous and strange creatures. From writer Ron Marz and illustrator Roberto Castro.

]]>Remakes are nothing new to pop culture fans. If you love something, there’s a pretty high chance there’s at least a dozen different versions of it, and you’ll of course be partial to your favourite one, with the other ones on a sliding scale of quality ranging from “eh” to “THIS RUINED MY CHILDHOOD!”, and so on and so forth.

But amongst all the remakes, there is one type that is scarcely pulled off successfully… The Western anime remake. Hard in theory, even harder in practice. Let’s face it, even the Japanese live-action anime adaptations still haven’t figured out how to make them consistently good (except for the Japanese Death Note live-action films, they’re great).

It’s a daunting task, because not only are you taking on the challenges of all remakes – taking something beloved and re-interpreting it while trying to keep it faithful to the original, but also modernising and putting your own stamp on it – while adding a whole new set of challenges in that are specific to anime. And speaking of daunting tasks, what do these challenges mean for the upcoming Cowboy Bebop adaptation by Netflix?

Animation to Live-Action

A challenge of remaking any anime IRL, or any animated property really, is making the switch from animation, to real life. Animation is arguably a far more expressive medium than live-action; it allows for a lot crazier and experimental storytelling and action, and there are just some things that will never be replicated as well.

For example, look at Dragonball: Evolution. Yes, we don’t want to look at it either, and we don’t want this article to just be an obituary for DBE, but is there any better example of a Western anime remake that just didn’t work? Among the myriad problems with that movie, there is the fact that visually, it looks nothing like Dragon Ball. Goku’s weird anime hair is something that will never work in real life. They tried their best, and it looked silly as hell. You could tell it was just a lot of hair gel. So then the only option is to either accept awful hair, or change it entirely, and then who’s to say he even looks like Goku at all? Could you imagine Yugi Mutou’s hair in real life? Probably not, right? But it looks fine in anime because that’s just how things work in drawings.

You can make absolutely bonkers stuff look totally normal in-universe, because they’re just drawings. Same goes for the look of the world. Dragon Ball’s incredibly unique world design, with its weird, alien-looking circle buildings, and the humanoid animals everywhere, wouldn’t really work IRL without copious amounts of expensive CGI, so a realistic world it is. So once you’ve changed the characters’ looks, and the world’s looks, what still makes it like the original?

Localisation/Adaptation

So fine, you can change the art design as much as you want, but what’s really at the heart of these stories isn’t their visuals, right? It’s the stories! The messages, the characters! That’s why we watch these shows, and in that regard, transforming anime into a more Western-friendly format presents a slew of new challenges.

Netflix’s Death Note

For one thing, there is a massive cultural divide between East and West. Some things that would work just fine in anime, don’t work as well over here. If you’re trying to do comedy, you’d need to do a complete overhaul of so many jokes, particularly the Japanese wordplay ones. Anyone familiar with Bakemonogatari will understand the struggle, but that’s not likely to get an adaptation any time soon, mainly because the subject matter, values, and themes are way too oddball to ever work over here, and the same goes for a lot of anime.

The only kinds of shows and movies that are ever really gonna be adapted are ones with easy universal appeal, which narrows down the selection substantially. Anime is becoming a lot more mainstream in Australia, but still, you can probably count the amount of realistic candidates on two hands. Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Ghost in the Shell, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Death Note, Code Geass, and Cowboy Bebop; all shows whose values and themes give them an international appeal. So far we’ve seen what DBZ, GitS, and Death Note look like IRL, and none of them have been received particularly well, so what’s going to make Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop any different?

It seems like a very obvious choice, really. It’s a ‘Space-Western’, so it’s a no-brainer to adapt in the West. The Wild West vibe and values translate easily, and the ambiguous space-setting makes it easy to adapt into any culture. Plus, Bebop is already one of the most popular shows of all time, so this should be easy, AND they have original creator Shinichiro Watanabe on board as consultant!

Clearly Netflix wants to make this THE live-action Western anime adaptation, the one that works, that everyone can agree is good. But now that we’ve explained why Bebop would be perfect for adaptation, it begs the question, why do it at all? If they do a word-for-word, shot-for-shot remake, what’s the point? Why not just watch the original? And if they change it, for better or worse, is it really still the same show? Does anime even need to be adapted into live-action? Sometimes, if you get it right the first time, things are better left as they are.

]]>Time’s Arrow: Where Next For The CW/DC Universe?https://www.supanova.com.au/times-arrow-next-cw-dc-universe/
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 23:47:34 +0000https://www.supanova.com.au/?p=36104There's a lot to unpack.

]]>Seven years since its inception, CW’s Arrowverse is collectively enjoying something of a renaissance.

The show that gave the interconnected stable of series its name, Arrow, and its first spin-off, The Flash, are both turning in their strongest seasons in at least a couple of years, after enduring some, shall we say, rocky midlife crises on each of their parts along the way.

Additionally, Supergirl – as of the recent Elseworlds crossover – has, for now, solved its Superman problem. Supa-Star Tyler Hoechlin is an alarmingly charismatic Kal-El, and his chemistry and rapport with the newly established Lois Lane (Bitsie Tulloch) are so natural, you’d be forgiven for wanting the show to refocus its narrative on them instead.

By stashing Clark and the newly introduced Lois on a far-off planet to see out Lois’ pregnancy, it puts two overbearing forces at great enough a distance to no longer run the risk of undercutting Kara’s – and Melissa Benoist’s – importance on her own show.

And, against all odds, Legends of Tomorrow has continued to outdo itself as the shining star of the entire line, having well outgrown its tepid first season to embrace the inherent wackiness of its core concept to become a consistently entertaining, outlandish, progressive and downright joyous ode to silly super-science and superhero shenanigans, and the best show of the bunch.

Pictured: Uh, only the best show on television. (Photo: YouTube)

So, with all four series currently on hiatus following the aforementioned Elseworlds three-parter (Legends abstained from the crossover this year, a fact gloriously referred to by Nate (Nick Zano) and Ray (Brandon Routh) in a typically meta piece of back-and-forth), it’s worth casting eyes forward to what may yet lie ahead for the heroes of the Arrowverse.

Crisis on Infinite Earths

We should get this bit of news out of the way first and foremost: as announced at the conclusion of Elseworlds, next year’s crossover will adapt DC’s seminal 1985 event, Crisis on Infinite Earths. There are a couple of important takeaways here.

Chiefly, the key piece of information that can be gleaned from Crisis is that Arrow, The Flash, and Supergirl are all exceptionally likely to be renewed for their eighth, sixth and fifth seasons, respectively. So that’s good news, for starters.

Can’t have a crossover if there aren’t any shows to cross over.

But it could also signify a huge shift in-story, too. In case you haven’t read the original Crisis series – and, frankly, no one would blame you, because it is an abnormally impenetrable book for new and longtime fans alike – the very basic gist is that DC, feeling bogged down by years of continuity, commissioned the event to merge their multiple universes into one, sort-of streamlined universe with a single, shared history.

As we know, the present Arrowverse is made up of an ever-growing number of different worlds – Supergirl takes place on Earth-38, for example, away from the adventures of Teams Arrow and Flash on Earth-1; could the televised Crisis be making way for the merging of Kara’s world with ours?

Elements of the story already made their way into Elseworlds: we saw the introduction of cosmic being The Monitor (LaMonica Garrett), Earth-90’s Flash (John Wesley Shipp) sought to warn our heroes of his coming – echoing Barry Allen’s comic-book caution of impending disaster to Batman – and both Supergirl and Flash were (almost, in the shows’ case) killed saving the world. Also, Psycho Pirate (Bob Frazer) was there.

Good for Psycho Pirate. (Photo: CW)

With the series already being so liberal with torn-from-the-pages references and inspiration, it’s not inconceivable that the Crisis event will make use of the cosmos-shifting ramifications to tidy itself up as a way of refreshing – or even possibly retiring – the universe.

That’s all not to mention the other elephant in the room – the nascent streaming DC Universe of shows, which has already begun with the acclaimed Titans and is set to expand with shows dedicated to the Doom Patrol and Stargirl; as well, we’ve seen the recent apparent clearing of the decks over at Netflix, cancelling its Marvel series as rival streaming service Disney+ stakes its claim of ownership. It’s entirely possible that, in Crisis, we’re seeing a similar endgame strategy for the CW as DCU looks to use more of its well-known characters to boost its own standing in the market.

So, where does that leave us?

Arrow

Outing Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and jailing him for his years of vigilante activity was probably the smartest move Arrow could make this far into its run. The shift in status quo made room for the arrival of Ollie’s half-sister, and new Green Arrow, Emiko Queen (Sea Shimooka). Since ditching its well-established flashback framework, the show has since given us glimpses at events 20 years hence among the present-day drama, revealing the fates of characters such as Roy Harper (Colton Haynes), and Oliver’s adult son, William (Ben Lewis). And, in Elseworlds, Ollie made a deal with The Monitor to spare Barry and Kara; it’s not too great a leap to suggest that the sacrifice he offered in place of their lives was his own.

In essence, the show – if it’s looking to run past next season – seems to be preparing for a future without Oliver Queen.

“Hear me out: we could be called ‘Wild Dog and Friends’! Guys?…Hey, guys?” (Photo: CW)

With that in mind, it’s possible that we’ll see an increasingly reckless Ollie on the way to Crisis, and whether whatever happens to him during that journey is a catalyst for future plans by Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), revealed in this season’s flash-forwards, to casually level Star City. If Stephen Amell were to use Crisis as a point to exit the universe he was so crucial in establishing, with eight years of lore behind it, Arrow is well placed to move forward with its supporting cast, especially with Emi filling the Green Arrow quiver – but, equally, if there was ever a time for the series to hang up the Hood for good and look back on its works with pride, that would be it.

The Flash

As much as Oliver Queen is connected to Crisis, Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) has been too – since his very first season, in fact. In Year One, we were introduced to the so-called ‘Crisis’ during which The Flash was projected to disappear one day. Though the article, written by Iris (Candice Patton) is dated 2025, there’s nothing that suggests the timeline – already affected by the arrival of Barry and Iris’ daughter, Nora (Jessica Parker Kennedy) – is impervious to future disruption, especially following the revelation that Nora’s strings are being pulled by Barry’s long-time nemesis, Eobard Thawne (Reverse-Flash).

The reintroduction of Tom Cavanagh’s Thawne-Wells hybrid is a welcome delight and, amazingly, the prospect of another speedster villain doesn’t seem anywhere near as exhausting as it would have a year ago (probably because The Thinker arc was so slow in, like, every regard).

Welcome back, you magnificent beast. (Photo: CW)

It would be a fitting way for the show to come full circle to have The Flash and his original antagonist clash once more in a final battle for supremacy ahead of potentially one of the defining moments of Barry Allen’s life, setting a fresh stage for the post-Crisis status quo – or, if it comes to it, serving as an apt swansong for the Scarlet Speedster, given comic-book Barry’s fate back in 1985.

Supergirl

Whether or not Supergirl’s world merges with Earth-1 as a result of the impending Crisis doesn’t really matter; the show has survived on its own (mostly) without issue for its three-and-a-half-season run, and with last season’s introduction of the 31st century’s Legion of Superheroes opening up a whole new time period of adventures to explore – perhaps worthy of a spin-off in its own right – there’s plenty of material to help it sustain itself even without an integrated continuity with its sister shows, should there be a post-Crisis Arrowverse left standing.

If that is the case, though, the main area where Supergirl could stand to benefit – especially with Big Blue now tucked away among the stars – would be to dial back its reliance on Superman villains (hello, Manchester Black) and story arcs (which tends to make Supergirl little more than an empty surrogate) and to really forge new ground for Kara Zor-El, well and truly out from her cousin’s shadow, where she can bask in the full glory of Earth’s yellow sun.

Alternatively, if Earth-38 does merge with Earth-1 and Batwoman doesn’t get picked up as a solo series off the back of her introduction in Elseworlds, it would be a perfect opportunity to bring the character into Supergirl and get some more World’s Finest adventures out of the whole deal. We could live with that.

Legends of Tomorrow

Interestingly, although Legendsis technically set on Earth-1, it too shares very little in common with Arrow, The Flash and even Supergirl. As executive producer Keto Shimitzu recently said, the show is now so tonally different from the rest of the Arrowverse as to make its inclusion in Elseworlds more laborious than it ought to be. But that’s fine, too: Legends works so well because its team of miscreants, misfits and magical beings feels so isolated from everyone else – adrift in time, more at home floating in the temporal zone than they are in any permanent residential structure, no matter what new Time Bureau employee Nate (Nick Zano) is telling himself.

The addition of Matt Ryan’s Constantine has been a particular joy to watch this season, in some ways giving him the second season his ill-fated solo show so sorely deserved. He’s a natural fit on the Waverider, and hopefully the character hangs around for longer than this run of episodes if given the opportunity. It’s obvious he’ll be pretty central to the season’s second half, being the target of ire for newly unveiled big bad demon Neron.

I never knew how much I needed this until I got it. (Photo: CW)

The entire ensemble works as beautifully together as it ever has, from the core team – Zari (Tala Ashe) has been a notable standout, as have Dominic Purcell’s Rory and Maisie Richardson-Sellers’ Charlie – right down to growing characters such as the eternally chipper Gary (Adam Tsekhman) and magical-creature fanatic Mona (Ramona Young). Both Nick Zano and Brandon Routh bring boundless enthusiasm to their roles as best bros Nate and Ray, and Caity Lotz, of course, remains the heart of the series in more ways than one, her role as Captain and burgeoning relationship with Time Bureau director Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan) highlighting her growth from reanimated, soulless assassin to cherished, intrepid defender of space and time.

If any CW series should survive the effects of Crisis on Infinite Earths, it’s Legends of Tomorrow, but even this beloved crew seem to be acutely aware that all good things must end. Amid all the heightened insanity of season four’s high-jinks to date, there has been an occasionally fatalistic undertone to some of the writing this year. Long-time member Nate has ostensibly retired from the ship to take up a more stable existence in the present and, when he visits the ship, he makes a comment about enjoying good times while they last.

Whether this is merely in-story philosophy or a more meta reflection of Legends’ own lifespan is moot. But, then again, midseason finale Legends of To-Meow-Meow spent its runtime literally killing the team over and over. Hey, fingers crossed it all works out – it always does for the Legends.

]]>Superhero films are big business at the moment, so studios are taking deep dives into comic archives to bring up the ‘Next Big Thing’. Who honestly thought we’d ever get one Ant-Man film, let alone a financially viable ongoing series of films that also feature him as part of a wider universe?

TV adaptations have gone gangbusters as well, having shed (most) of their reputation for being silly or tacky, with classy adaptations like Daredevil (RIP) and Jessica Jones. Things don’t look like slowing down anytime soon, so we’ve pulled together a list of comic characters we’d be happy to see show up on the big or small screen.

Doctor Fate

A mysterious individual who works to battle sinister magical forces that lurk just beyond the veil, powers fuelled by a mystical artefact… No, it’s not Doctor Strange, it’s Doctor Fate! Predating Lee and Ditko’s Sorcerer Supreme by more than 20 years, Doctor Fate has never quite moved beyond a cult character, but still offers a very cool and in-depth mythos that could really shine on either big or small screen.

Doctor Fate is also more of a title, having been held by people of differing ethnicities and genders throughout the character’s history – and even by multiple people at the same time. This opens up a wide variety of casting opportunities, and also reduces the reliance on a single actor through the life of a franchise. Maybe an anthology-style TV series?

She-Hulk

As cool as it is to see the Hulk unleashed onscreen, it’s not unfair to say that the jolly green giant can be a little bit of a one-dimensional character (evidence submitted: the not-bad-but-largely-ignored The Incredible Hulk). Yet in spite of starting off as a character created to claim a trademark, Hulk’s cousin Jennifer Walters – aka She-Hulk – has never really had that issue.

Entertaining, funny, and charming, she’s a lawyer by profession and a giant green fighter by virtue of a blood transfusion from Bruce Banner. Legal shows never really go out of vogue; combine that with some superhero violence and you’d have a sure-fire winner. Given the character, it would even be an opportunity to inject more comedy into the MCU – something that the Netflix Marvel series have been largely lacking, and perhaps why a lot of them have been cancelled.

Wildc.a.t.s

The ‘90s were the best and the worst time for comics fans. They’d hit the mainstream and gotten some validation from wider pop culture, but then you also had stuff like The Death of Superman, endless novelty covers, and most of the stuff that Image Comics pumped out in its early days. It was all very exciting and flashy, but virtually all of it aged like milk left outside in the Australian summer.

On the surface, Wildcats really couldn’t be more ‘90s. It had an impossibly chiselled android leading man, ninjas, and a demon-possessed Vice President. Despite this outlandish pitch that surely sounded better at the time, it could definitely be retooled for more modern sensibilities; underlying the flashy styling was a fun team dynamic that had no doubt been influenced by creator Jim Lee’s time on X-Men. It would also expand into some truly bizarre world-building, all centred around a good vs. evil narrative, while still maintaining some intriguing moral ambiguity.

Mage

Of course, not all comic-based adaptations need to be flights and tights – The Walking Dead has definitely proven that. Originally debuting in the mid-’80s, Matt Wagner’s Mage has plenty of action, but also more of a magical realism feel that distinguishes it from similar superhero fare. With its references to Shakespeare and Arthurian myth, it’s a great mix of high and low media.

At one point, Zack Snyder was scheduled to direct an adaptation; however, not much movement appears to have occurred in a number of years. But if handled correctly, Mage could make for a low-budget, gritty series that provides a fresh take on the urban fantasy genre.

Zatanna

Fans of the mystic and mysterious should acquaint themselves with Zatanna from DC Comics. The concept for Zatanna is simple and a lot of fun, and a familiar one if you’ve seen the likes of The Prestige or The Illusionist. An actual magician who doubles as a stage magician, Zatanna’s powers make her one of the most powerful sorceresses in the DC Universe.

Like Scarlet Witch mixed with Constantine, her knowledge of the occult and the supernatural realm make her a rival for the Sting lookalike from Vertigo’s Hellblazer himself. Zatanna’s publication history is a long one, which sees her crossing between Vertigo and DC, where she has teamed-up with and clashed heads with the likes of Justice League, Batman, Swamp-Thing and more.

So far she’s been seen in various animated television series and movies, notably the recent Justice League Dark as well as Young Justice and all staple DC animated TV shows. She has also already been seen in live-adaptation form, most significantly in a recurring role throughout the last three seasons of Smallville. Currently she has been confirmed to be in the upcoming Justice League Dark live-action movie with plans to develop her own solo movie after her team-up movie appearance.

Mandrake

While on the subject of magic and mysticism, fans of Lee Falk’s The Phantom may recognise Mandrake the Magician, who pre-dated the purple spandex-clad jungle vigilante. First appearing way-back in 1934, Mandrake is actually regarded the first comic-book superhero by many comic historians.

Mandrake’s abilities stem from his incredibly powerful talent for hypnosis, allowing him to conjure realistic illusions to dabbling in invisibility, levitation, shape-shifting and teleportation. Like Zatanna, Mandrake doubles as performing magician and a vigilante who uses his powerful hat and wand to thwart gangsters and alternate-dimensional beings.

A live-action adaptation has been in the works since 2007, first with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, then Hayden Christensen, then finally Sascha Baron Cohen cast as the magician. But the last reports on a live-action adaptation film were back in 2016.

Lumberjanes

If the success of Stranger Things has proven anything, it’s that audiences love following the exploits of a bunch of bewildered youngsters. Lumberjanes finds a group of young women stuck at a scout camp for the summer who then have to battle weird creatures and get caught up in a myriad of supernatural hi-jinx.

Created by Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters, and originally beginning as an eight-issue limited series from Boom! Studios in 2014, the title was so popular it became an ongoing hit and is still kicking at 50 issues strong!

If you love Scooby Doo, The Goonies, Super 8 and E.T. you’ll love watching Mal, Ripley, Molly, April and Jo solve mysteries while collecting scout badges and compiling rocking mix-tapes. The good news is even if you’ve never heard of it, 20th Century Fox picked up the rights for a live-action adaptation back in 2015 and in August 2016, Emily Carmichael was announced to direct. Not much news on the adaptation has been heard since, but fingers crossed it arrives soon!

The Goon

If you like Hellboy and Spawn, then zombie-fighting, hammer-pounding, muscle-bound tough guy The Goon is for you. Think of him like Popeye on overdrive, The Goon is a mob-enforcer/career criminal who mushes deadbeats into pulp amidst a supernatural but humorous back-drop.

Anybody familiar with Eric Powell’s crime-horror series may already know this character’s frustratingly close brush with a major-motion picture adaptation. Back in 2008 a CG animated film with Clancy Brown as the titular hero and Paul Giamatti as his side-kick Franky was announced and we even got a trailer two years later, but since then the property found itself stuck in development hell.

In 2012, Blur Studio and David Fincher launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the film, and the campaign achieved its landmark before deadline. Since then, no release date has been announced but Tim Miller is attached to the project. If the creative team could remain and they could jump from animation to live-action, yes, it would mean a lot more dollars and much more time but somebody like Jason Statham was born to play a cap-wearing hard-man who clocks monsters and wise-guys!